KISS Cancels Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Performance Due to Line-Up Dispute

February 24, 2014 09:11:47 GMT

The iconic rock band explains in a statement that they won't 'play in any line-up' and 'will focus our attention on celebrating our induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame' instead.

Photo credit: Judy Eddy/WENN

KISS has canceled plan to perform at their upcoming Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The iconic rock band made the decision after they had a disagreement over which line-up should take the stage at the event on April 10 in Brooklyn, New York.

The group's Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley couldn't choose between performing with fellow original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss or current members Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer. In a statement posted on their website on Sunday, February 23, they explained that not performing at all would be the best choice.

"Our intention was to celebrate the entire history of KISS and give credit to all members, including longtime present members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer, and additionally Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr all who have made this band what it is, regardless of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's point of view," the band wrote.

"Although KISS has moved forward far longer without them, Ace and Peter are at the very foundation of what we have built and this would all be impossible had they not been a part of it in the beginning," they continued.

"This is understandably an emotional situation where there is no way to please everyone," they added. "To bring this to a quick end, we have decided not to play in any line-up and we will focus our attention on celebrating our induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

Before the statement was released, Frehley and Criss made claims that Simmons and Stanley were the ones who didn't want to perform at the event with the original line-up.

In a radio interview on Friday night, February 21, Frehley said, "And the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was very excited about having the four original members who are being inducted to perform at the ceremony. And that was shot down by Paul and Gene."

He also made it clear that the he would not be performing at the induction ceremony alongside new member Thayer. "I'm not gonna get on the stage with Tommy wearing my makeup. That's absurd," he told Q104.3 FM.

Meanwhile, Criss wrote on his own site that he and Frehley "have been denied a performance with Gene and Paul for our Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction." He added, "I wanted to make sure that fans understood that no original performance, in or out of makeup, has been offered to us."